Community Planning Comes to CHUV

The Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) has launched a two year Community Planning effort for Crown Hill Urban Village and the surrounding area. Neighbors who live in and around the Crown Hill Urban Village area are invited to participate and share their ideas for our neighborhood. Please participate by filling out and sharing this short survey from the City. Community Planning for CHUV and surrounding areas will begin now and go through the end of 2019 and be divided into three phases:

Phase I: Background & Scoping (Q3 – Q4 2018) Includes community outreach and public engagement, Collection of background information, identification of key work program elements, and project charter & scoping

There will be several community meetings throughout this process where there will be additional opportunities to comment, review plans and participate. Sign up on the City OPCD project list for emails and updates and watch for announcements on this page.

Questions and Answers

Is this Community Planning the same as the efforts to Upzone our neighborhood to allow more growth for MHA (Mandatory Housing Affordability).

NO, this is a separate effort to create a strategic community plan for our neighborhood. The plan to Upzone CHUV has been put on holduntil the outcome of an appeal, and pending the verdict would be introduced as legislation before the City Council sometime after January 2019. Community input on the neighborhood plan will NOT affect the outcome of proposed Upzones.

What is a Community Plan?

The goal of developing a Community Plan for CHUV (also known as Neighborhood Planning) is to develop a long range vision for our neighborhood, and then use that vision to set future plan for funding priorities for infrastructure investments (sidewalks, transit, crosswalks, parks, etc). A community plan can include design guidelines to shape and other opportunities like community art to influence the future look and feel of our neighborhood over the next twenty years.

Why is a Community Plan Important?

CHUV has experienced tremendous growth and change in the last few years. However, our neighborhood has not had a neighborhood plan since 1998 when we were added to Ballard’s planning effort. We have no design guidelines to reflect a common vision for aesthetics and functionality of our community. This leaves our neighborhood with no strategic plan, vision or design guidelines to guide new development and density already coming or that may come in the future if MHA Upzones pass. We also have no clear priorities to identify the infrastructure investments (sidewalks, drainage, transit, parks, etc) needed to support that growth so neighbors are mobile, safe and enjoy a livable community. Community plans inform City budget priorities.

How does Community Planning Begin?

Our community planning process begins with a short survey. The goal of this survey is to identify some broad opportunities in our neighborhood that can be built upon or need improvement. Results of this survey, along with community feedback via City-sponsored meetings, will guide the community priorities for the future.

What does “Visioning” mean applied to our neighborhood?

Think about what you would like this community to become in the future. We encourage neighbors to share their ideas for what the future of our neighborhood can be. For example:

Do we want a neighborhood center – a place where neighbors can easily walk and gather? Where would that be? What could it look like?

What do we love in our community, and what needs improvement to make basic mobility and livability and living here easier and safer?

What kinds of businesses, services and housing would we like to see in our community?

Why does the Crown Hill Urban Village Committee for Smart Growth Support Community Planning?

Our Committee has advocated for neighborhood planning to shape growth since we organized around the MHA Upzones in 2016, and secured this planning with the help of Councilmember Mike O’Brien’s advocacy and neighbor’s advocacy with the city. We believe that regardless of the outcome of MHA Upzoning, having a neighborhood plan is essential to secure needed infrastructure investments and design guidelines to shape our community – both the growth that is already coming under existing zoning and growth that can come should MHA upzones pass the Council in the future.

Please email info@crownhillurbanvillage.org with any questions for us about the MHA Upzones or feedback on planning.

Contact the City directly with questions and feedback about the community planning process.